Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Tuesday the mission of Ethiopian forces is to protect the country from the threat by mujahidin.

"They pose a very serious threat to us. A clear and present danger as our parliament described it. Our mission is to stop that by degrading their military capability to hurt us. Once we have done that, we have completed our mission," Meles told a press conference.

"So far the Somali people in the areas that our troops and those of the TFG (Transitional Federal Government) have crossed have been very welcoming to our troops. We have not faced resistance of any kind from the Somali population," he said.

"Much of the UIC (Union of Islamic Courts) militia is out of the game now. They have gone to their clan bases. We have no plan to pursue those. The rank and file of the Islamic Courts militia is not a threat to Ethiopia. It is not the enemy; and we are not pursuing them at all."

The prime minister said the limited operation of the Ethiopian air force in Somalia's capital Mogadishu was a very carefully carried out operation.

"The air force limited its activities to the air base at Balo Dogleey, where there are no civilians," Meles said.

He also said Ethiopia welcomes all peace initiatives being carried out by the international community and that it would fully cooperate to the fruition of such initiatives.

Since Sunday, Ethiopian forces, together with the TFG forces, have launched counterattacks against the UIC in Somalia, saying that their patience "has been exhausted."

At present, the joint forces are advancing on the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Source: Xinhua